Bruce Springsteen To Take His Magic Act On The Road


As has been widely speculated and rumored since the announcement of an impending new Bruce Springsteen album with the E Street Band nearly two weeks ago, today it was confirmed that Springsteen will embark on a concert tour with the E Street Band this fall.

The first U.S. leg of the tour will kick off on October 2 in Hartford, CT (the same day that said album, titled "Magic" will be released by Sony), and wrap up on Nov. 18 in Boston.

From there, Bruce and The E Street Band head over to Europe for a string of dates there, before coming back to America for what is presumed will be another run of dates here early next year.

Although further dates in America are only a matter of speculation at this time, and nothing is officially set, one has to assume that they will happen. Recent Springsteen concert tours -- both with and without the E Street Band -- have followed a pattern where the shows are in played in short six to eight week long "legs," followed by a short break. Since reuniting with the E Street band in 1999 for a reunion tour, the "Boss" has in fact been something of a fixture on the road with each of his subsequent tours. The run of concert dates for the albums "The Rising," "Devils & Dust," and last years "Seeger Sessions" lasted up to a full year when all was said and done.

Another factor to be considered here is the fact that the current schedule misses such major cities as Denver, Seattle, Portland, Dallas, Phoenix, and Atlanta. With the omission of these major markets, the prospect of more dates next year seems highly likely.

Also to be factored in is Springsteen's apparent excitement about playing the songs from the forthcoming "Magic" live.

In an exclusive interview published today by the highly regarded "Boss Magazine," Backstreets, Springsteen noted that "It's just built for it," when he spoke of the new songs.

In the same interview, Springsteen also seemed to put to rest any rumors that this would be a farewell tour for the E Street Band: "Oh, I'll never do that, man -- you're only gonna know that when you don't see me no more," Springsteen was quoted as saying in the Backstreets interview.

In other Springsteen news today, the lead-off track from the Magic album, a driving rocker called "Radio Nowhere," being described by some fans as his most rocking song since the "Born In The USA" days, has been made available as a free download for one week. You can get that download by going here.

Here are the dates and venues announced thus far for the U.S. leg of the "Magic" tour:

All times are local times for each city.

Oct 2
Hartford Civic Center
Hartford, CT
Sept 8 Onsale

Oct 5
Wachovia Center
Philadelphia, PA
Sept 8 Onsale

Oct. 9
Continental Airlines Arena
East Rutherford, NJ
Sept 10 Onsale

Oct 10
Continental Airlines Arena
East Rutherford, NJ
Sept 10 Onsale

Oct 14
Civic Centre
Ottawa, ON
Sept 17 Onsale

Oct 15
Air Canada Centre
Toronto, ON
Sept 17 Onsale

Oct 17
Madison Square Garden
New York, NY
Sept 10 Onsale

Oct 18
Madison Square Garden
New York, NY
Sept 10 Onsale

Oct 21
United Center
Chicago, IL
Sept 8 Onsale

Oct 26
Oracle Arena
Oakland, CA
Sept 15 Onsale

Oct 28
Venue TBA
Los Angeles, CA
Onsale TBA

Nov 2
Xcel Energy Center
St. Paul, MN
Sept 22.10 a.m. Onsale

Nov 4
Quicken Loans Arena
Cleveland, OH
Sept 15 Onsale

Nov 5
Palace of Auburn Hills
Auburn Hills, MI
Sept 21 Onsale

Nov 11
Verizon Center
Washington DC
Sept 21 Onsale

Nov 14
Mellon Arena
Pittsburgh, PA
Sept 14 Onsale

Nov 15
Times Union Center
Albany, NY
Sept 8 Onsale

Nov 18
TD Banknorth Garden
Boston, MA
Sept 22 Onsale